Barack Obama, the first black president, dominated American magazine covers last year, but for titles targeting African Americans, getting marketers' attention in a bad economy has been a challenge.
Black-interest titles suffer from the same problems as other media, but in a recession, advertisers tend to first cut those outlets that they see as "nice to haves."
Ebony and Jet's
ad pages plunged 40% and 38%, respectively, for the first nine months of 2009. On the upside, African-American publications enjoy a strong loyalty with consumers, which makes them an efficient buy for
advertisers, says Stefano Curti, president of Johnson & Johnson beauty care. Ford Motor Co. also stayed committed to black-aimed media in 2009.
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